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We’d love to hear your story! www.lpl.ca/contact
Annual Report to the
Community 2015
London Public Library 251 Dundas St. London, On N6A 6H9
www.lpl.ca 519-661-4600 info@lpl.ca
Annual Report to the Community 2015 • PAGE 1
An Inspirational Year
Library Board
We’ve been working hard and seen great progress on our current Strategic Plan initiatives. Some of the accomplishments that we are most proud of are part of embedding our new User First Service Philosophy into all aspects of our delivery of customer and community service. This is reflected in initiatives that range from the removal of barriers to those more vulnerable in our community to providing a self-service, online option to our Inter-Library Loan users.
GLORIA LECKIE (CHAIR 2015)
As we celebrated the 100th anniversary of the opening of our first branch library, the W.O. Carson Branch, we delighted in the community’s response to the refurbishment of our Jalna Branch, began to develop the plan for the new Southwest London Community Centre and launched the muchneeded Central Library Revitalization Project. In November, we issued A Perspective on the Economic Impact of London Public Library on the City of London (www.lpl.ca/econimpact2015) which provided an opportunity for conversation with our community and municipal leaders around the great value that our library system provides. It has been a very busy year and we must take the time here to extend our deepest thanks to you, our community and to our Library Board, our staff team, our volunteers, our partners and our donors and supporters, including the Friends of the London Public Library. In designing this report, we were inspired by the words of one of our patrons, James Shelley, who celebrates the diversity of people and ideas he encounters at the library. Just as James’s words have inspired us, we take inspiration from you, our community, to deliver excellent user first service and experiences and to strive for improvement each and every day. We look forward to an even busier and more impactful year ahead, thanks to your support and inspiration. Susanna Hubbard Krimmer, CEO and Chief Librarian
SCOTT COURTICE (CHAIR, 2016) STUART CLARK VICKI DOUVALIS MARIAM HAMOU BASSAM L AZAR COUNCILLOR TANYA PARK HANNAH R ASMUSSEN COUNCILLOR PHIL SQUIRE DONNA VACHON
Barb certainly made the most of her time here on earth, and we made a good team, complementing each other’s particular strengths. Barb was outgoing and forthright. She could ask anybody for anything. I admired that. I was more at ease behind the scenes, writing the words we needed. Together with the diverse and valuable skillsets of the entire Glanworth Association team we did something amazing, and today there it stands for all to see — London’s smallest and oldest continually operating library, beautifully renovated and bearing its heritage plaque with pride.
Barb Shore and Victoria White threw themselves behind efforts to raise funds for their Library from 2011 until the Library was renovated in 2014. Together with members of the Glanworth Community Association, they supported a community pledge drive, hosted a booksale, rallied local businesses, worked with
Barb should be here to enjoy the Library she helped to save, so these days when I drive by the quaint white frame structure on Glanworth Drive I experience a bittersweet pang of sorrow and gladness. I am reminded of those insanely busy days, our fundraising foibles, our missteps as well as our triumphs. I will cherish every memory, every lesson learned from that journey. Most of all, I will remember the laughter we all shared, and Barb had one of the best laughs — a big-hearted, generous laugh, just like the person she was. She left something quite tangible behind in her grit and determination to see us succeed, and at the end of the day it’s that legacy that will endure.
Gloria Leckie, Chair, Library Board Photo: Victoria White (left) and Barbara Shore (right), October, 2011. Reprinted with permission from Our London.
Orchestra London on a fundraising concert, and sold winter touques and scarves and Barb’s famous homegrown sunflowers.
REMEMBERING friend and fundraiser Barbara Shore
3,869,642 items borrowed
By Victoria A. White
On March 14, 2015, our community lost Barb to cancer, just days after my mother’s passing, also from cancer.
James Shelley
s
n
To lose both a mother and a best friend in the same week is a cruel reminder that life is precious, that we have to make the most of the time we are given, even if it means doing something we have never done before, no matter how daunting it seems or how uncharted the path.
The library is a veritable kaleidoscope of bubbles.
so
My great-grandmother, Anne Glenn, was a voracious reader who supported the library and promoted the importance of reading.
PAGE 14 • London Public Library
When the branch officially reopened on June 26, 2014, we secretly thanked them. Victorious as we were, however, Barb was valiantly battling her own personal health challenge.
We have to make the most of the time we are given, even if it means doing something we have never done before.
Grace Shore, Barb’s forebear, was Glanworth’s librarian from 1927 until 1952. It became a free public library in 1946 thanks to her efforts.
4,012,731 website visits
ea 4R
We dubbed ourselves Grace and Amy though, in homage to two strong women who were among the original founding members of the Glanworth Library.
We called upon both of them for inspiration as we rallied the community behind our worthy cause — the preservation and renovation of the tiny 100-year-old Glanworth Branch Library.
to
lle y.c om
They used to call us the “library ladies,” but we considered ourselves more comrades-in-arms than the demure sippers of tea suggested by that moniker.
he ss Lo e ve j am You r Public Library
2,737,988 Library visits
Annual Report to the Community 2015 • PAGE 3
An Investment In London’s Future
2015
Operating Revenue
Do you know the value of your library card? Mine is worth $35,000 – a modest average of $25 a book, reading at least 35 books per year for the past 40 ... years!
City of London ........................................ $20,117,983 Provincial Grants ...........................................698,571 Federal Grants ...................................................6,637 Fines .............................................................. 369,141 Fees, Rentals & Sundry.................................. 474,654 Other .............................................................. 18,965
Operating Expenditures Human Resources .................................. $14,505,612 Collections* ................................................. 1,997,398
$1 invested
Facility Services* ......................................... 1,707,028
= $6.68
Utilities ...........................................................931,228
in value
Technology* ....................................................579,349 Purchased Services* ..................................... 628,586 Facilities Repairs & Maintenance* ...............1,002,487 General .......................................................... 137,721 Program Services ........................................... 88,592 Furniture & Equipment* ....................................88,814
*Expenditures are shown before amortization of tangible capital assets. See Library website for the 2015 LPL Audited Financial Statements prepared according to PSAB sections 1200 Financial Statement Presentation and 3150 Tangible Capital Assets. The audited statements show amortization of $3,377,845 for capital assets such as buildings, computers, collections, library shelving, furniture, equipment, and motor vehicles.
PAGE 4 • London Public Library
98.6% satisfied/very satisfied with Library services
Daphne Jarvis Jeano Sheila Johnston Linda Jones Josette Kadour Harold & Katherine Keeling Arlene Keener Robert Kelly M.D. Shelley Kempling Andrew & Ann Kertesz Grace King Kirsten Knight Herald Krimmer Wilma Lambert Lambeth Hort Vaughan & Diane Latimer Vic & Grace Laursen Rosine Levy Jennifer Lewington Librarians Without Borders - UWO Chapter Donna Linnell Literacy London Rosemary Logan London East Lions Club Jan & Richard Lubell Sandra MacKenzie Doug MacLeod Anne Marie Madziak & Janice Marchant Richard Malton Marion Marchant Eric Marshall Lynn Marshall Eileen Mather Donald Matthews Wendy McCaul Marilyn McClelland Patricia McClure & John Koreen Doug & Julie McDermid Jerry McEachern Lynn McFerran Marilyn McGilvray
Alison McIntosh Lynne McKechnie Audrey McKee Roy & Ann McKenzie Catherine McLachlin Libby McMillan Stephen Meserve Virginia Miller Viola Poletes Woody Moore Roslyn Moorhead Louise Moorhouse Kevin & Uta Moran Louise Morley Anne Morrison Penny Mortley Gwen Morton M. A. Nisbet Donna Nunn Laura Lee O’Brien Cliff & Mary Oliver Optimist Club of East London Friends at the Canadian Olympic Committee Barbara Park Robert Poisson Nancy Poole Peter & Lilly Potter Di & Frank Pratt Linda & Bill Ratcliffe The Rees-Evans Family Judith Reid Betsy Reilly Gay Reynolds Karen Rice Rona Hickson Deborah & Thomas Rosehart The Rotman Family Foundation D. D. Russell Jeff & Judy Ann Sadler Gerson & Sandra Safran Robert & Peggy Sanderson
Catherine Schaus Nancy Schiefer Carolyn Scott Ian & Elaine Simpson Nicholas Skinner Art & Laurie Smith Joseph Smith Kathy Stark Current & Past Staff of Beacock Branch Library James & Sharon Stewart Janet E. Stewart Lisa Stilborn Roy Stover Carolyn Stuart Paul & Connie Sullivan Pat Sutton Lynne Swanson Frances Taylor Bonnie Teevan Beth Tellaeche The Tenaquip Foundation Don & Nanette Thierry Lilian Thompson Susan Traill Don & Virginia Tremblay Erica Tsujita K. L. Turner Sarah Underhill United Way - London & Middlesex Syd Usprich Donna Vachon
Barbara Van Haarlem Julie Van Wagner Pat Vande Sompel Sally Vernon W. D. Sutton & Madeline Hardy Schools Audrey Walters Ruth Walton Nancy Ward Lynn & Keith Watson Bertie Watts Glenn Weeks Western University The Student Success Centre Beth Whitney & Jim French Kathy Whitworth Ken Wigle Ray & Janice Williams Lynn Williams David Winninger Annette Wright Liz Yong Mair Zamir +91 anonymous donors
With your help, we bring dreams and knowledge to our community.
Thank you, Donors! $75,000–$99,999
$500–$999
Friends of the London Public Library
Tony & Joy Abbott Barry Brown Winifred Burke Christmas In The Village Bertha Garcia Joyce Garnett General Dynamics Land Systems - Canada Noelle Grace Ellen Hobin William Kelly London Central Lions Club Lynette Lowry Lindsay Sage The Sisters of St. Joseph of the Diocese of London Foundation Dinh Ngoc Tran Westminster Township Historical Society +2 anonymous donors
$10,000–$24,999 Gordon MacDonald
$5,000–$9,999 The Hueston Biduke Family The Lawson Foundation
$1,000–$4,999 Michael & Julie Boucher Canadian Federation of University Women London Club Wayne Cranston EllisDon Corporation Jack Hyatt Jones Packaging Inc. Susanna Hubbard Krimmer Lambeth Optimist Club Inc. Nature London Old South/Wortley Village Business Association Optimist Club of Byron Tecumseh Community School The Estate of Elizabeth Mckellar Altair Fund at Toronto Foundation Western Fair District +1 anonymous donor PAGE 12 • London Public Library
$100–$499 Hilda Abel Allan Anderson James Anderson Velda Andrew Yvonne Archibald Brenda Atkison Edward Baker Kathryn Barber Donald & Heather Barclay
Patricia Barrett Frances Bauer Margaret Beallor Joan Beavers Jane Bigelow Beverley Biro Mardelle Bishop Sandra Boksman Jane Bondy Albert Boniface Patricia Bourne John Boyne Lisa Bozyk Julie Brandl Doreen Brazier Robert & Gail Brent Margaret Brown Judd & Kay Buchanan Dorothy Bullock Jan Bushfield CUPE Local 217 Library Employees Mary Calder Brenda Callaghan CEG-London Cassels Brock & Blackwell LLP Christmas Line Dancers City Hall Charity Chest Fund Jocelyn Cline Barb Cook Murray & Barbara Cosens Bryan Davies Matt & Christine Davison A. M. Dawes Sonia DeBenetti-Doyle Janan Dean Ruth Dettmer Divine Dining Divas Eileen Dobell Elizabeth Dobson Garry & Nancy Dodman Vicki Douvalis Mike Drabick
Pat Draper Betty Duffield Helen Dundas Charles Dunham Brian & Kathy Dunn A. & S. Edwards Marilyn Elford Jim & Liz Etherington A. M. Fallon Rachel Ferguson J. E. Fitzgerald Ann & Bill Fleming Focus on Art Group Maria Forte Trudy Fratschko Lawrence & Ruth Fric Dr. Charles George Pauline Giffin Rudi & Gwen Gijzen Gloria Gilbert Peter Gillin Harvey & Mary Lou Gleason Julie Gonyou James & Eva Good Great Lakes Copper Inc Roseanne Greene Marguerite Griffiths Annie Grindstaff Helen Guthrie Karen Hacker Linda Hardy Margaret Hastings Elizabeth Heinicke H. Henderson Walter Heywood & Lorrie Lefebvre Fern Hill Dale Hoose Hoovy Les Horwath Paul Hovey Gord Hume Jim Hutchinson Wilma Hysen Angela Jacob
Your Voice The Library is always gathering feedback through our website and at all of our branches. With your help, we made service changes in 2015 that put our users first: • Connect Card–reduces barriers, opening London Public Library to people who cannot meet the standard identification requirements to get a Library card. • London Room digitization project–creating a searchable index of local historical resource materials available in the London Room. • Accessible service desks installed at Cherryhill and Jalna, creating a comfortable space to connect with all patrons.
Every book I read is a deposit into my ‘book account’.
452%
An LPL card is the best value for entertainment, education, and exquisite enlightenment.
return on investment
93.8% agree/strongly agree ‘using Library resources saves me money’
$102 million in economic impact
• DVD QuickPicks– shorter loan periods to get top feature films to you more quickly! • Hoopla–more digital content available on-the-go! • Lynda.com–free, self-serve learning. • 21 day loans for DVD TV series–more time to enjoy!
95.8% agree/strongly agree ‘Library services enhance my quality of life’
• First steps towards Southwest London Community Centre with the City of London and YMCA of Western Ontario. • Announcing the Central Revitalization project that will build fresh, new, community spaces inside your Central Library.
Annual Report to the Community 2015 • PAGE 5
At Your Library: A Feeling of Belonging Since London Public Library’s official opening in 1895, Libraries have been landmarks in our community and regular stops for families all over the city. With sixteen neighbourhood branches, a Library is never far away. In 2015, many Londoners joined us in celebrating Library milestones: • 100th Anniversary of Carson Branch, London’s first branch library • 30th Anniversary of Sherwood Branch Library • 10th Anniversary of The Library Store, run by the Friends of the London Public Library • 20th Anniversary of Masonville Branch Library In October, the people of North London came together to celebrate twenty years with Masonville Library as part of their community! To capture the moment in history, the Library asked patrons to write letters to their future selves. These letters were stamped and sealed with wax. When the letters are delivered, the recipients will think back with fond memories of their local Library; the connections made at Masonville extend beyond the Library walls. Librarian Linda Bussiere waves to families as she rides her bicycle to work. “We are a community because we have created this place together.” The programs and services offered at Masonville have grown out of an interest from the community. PAGE 6 • London Public Library
Volunteers maintain the lush gardens outside the Library. On Tuesday afternoons, Masonville makes Library spaces available for patrons to drop in, play a game, share knitting tips and patterns, and spend quality time as a community. On a Wednesday evening in early spring, the parking lot is full, and bikes are locked to the metal frames outside. A family is walking out of the Library, arms filled with books, as an older couple walks in, holding their tablet computers. The white board at the entrance announces an ESL class for adult newcomers, a Tai Chi class, and an exhibition of local art. A group of dedicated readers arrives at Masonville to meet with Masonville Mothers and Daughters, a book club that has been reading together for almost 8 years. Many of the families involved first visited Masonville for storytime, and grew up while reading with this book club. This group welcomes mothers and daughters in grades 6 through 10. It is especially important to nurture the love of reading as these young women transition from the children’s collection to teen books. Members since 2008, Debora smiles and Sophie hugs a stack of her favourite books to her chest as they join the group. Debora can’t say enough about what the book club has meant to her family.
Asked and Answered
Let’s Get Digital
Sometimes questions are complicated. With the right help, finding the answer can be simple:
More than ever, Londoners are using our online platforms to access Library resources.
Book a Librarian! This new service launched in 2015, and our research experts offer one-on-one help using Library resources to answer your questions.
You asked over
1,000,000 reference questions!
My father is an avid reader and is losing his sight. How can the Library help keep him supplied with stories?
Where can I learn about trends in the educational software market, as well as suppliers and competitors? Can you help me find good books for my dyslexic child?
141% more reading news on PressDisplay
29% more listening to eAudiobooks
www.lpl.ca/BookALibrarian 20% more database searches Annual Report to the Community 2015 • PAGE 11
“This book club offers me a time to be with my daughter in an environment with no phones and distractions”.
Read along with Mothers and Daughters
Each meeting includes a book talk, led by librarian Linda, followed by an activity and a snack. The Library is often decorated with incredible art inspired by the different stories the group has shared. When it’s time to vote on the next book they will read; the discussion often gets heated when mothers and daughters vote for different titles!
“A person who is literate in the ‘digital’ aspects of our technological world is able to move and shape their environment, and create new possibilities and solutions to the problems that surround them”. –UnLondon With the help of UnLondon, we are expanding the Library’s community building efforts into the digital world, inviting kids into the Library to play Minecraft, a computer game where players use 3D building blocks to build and explore! Schools and Libraries have seen tremendous success using Minecraft as a learning tool to encourage creative thinking, goal-setting, and teamwork. The kids don’t realize the education they’re receiving when they play the game, but it’s huge!
Our meeting is interrupted briefly as someone pokes their head into the room, looking for the Colouring Corner, a drop-in program where participants can enjoy an evening of colouring with their own materials, or use the Library’s collection of pencil crayons and colouring books. The Colouring Corner is always busy! As the book club meeting comes to a close, the group takes turns sharing and reminiscing over their favourite stories. While this may be the end of the chapter for this book club, a new chapter is beginning! The next twenty years will see Masonville evolve as a place of endless possibilities – for connections - for learning – for surprises - for building a place for the community to call its own.
Escape from Mr. Lemoncello’s Library by Chris Grabenstein
The Penderwicks by Jeanne Birdsall
From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler by E.L. Konigsburg
The Green Man by Michael Bedard
“We have kids who come in to play Minecraft who know nothing about it…and in ten minutes they’re teaching [us] things.” –Allison Pilon, LPL Librarian We are thrilled to see Library staff, parents, and kids exploring these randomly generated worlds, working together to solve real problems in a controlled environment. Digital literacy empowers young people to use technology to transform their lives and, just maybe, build a whole new world.
Raymie Nightingale by Kate DiCamillo
Navigating a digital world with
Minecraft PAGE 10 • London Public Library
Annual Report to the Community 2015 • PAGE 7
A RICHNESS OF RESOURCES
2.7 million people 223 expert staff
London Room archives
visited their library
14,000 programs volunteers and events 318,597 unique titles
4% for teens
in 30+ languages
PARTICIPATING
31% for children
65% for adults books
775 magazine titles
READING magazines
on your device with Zinio
LEARNING
We connect people with info ormation, services, and a content in the form mat of their choic ce, for a perso onalized Library experience. e
with Rosetta Stone languages with Press international Reader news
assistive technology
CONNECTING
online content
LISTENING
meeting space 16 branches
on CD down- audiobooks loadable
InstantFlix
PAGE 8 • London Public Library
including London artists
Libro Library Roadshow
424 public computers
Visiting Library
Hoopla
WATCHING 4 million website visits
DVDs live concerts
on dedicated computers
music CDs
documentaries
feature films
Annual Report to the Community 2015 • PAGE 9